“Go, go!” I yell to Jefferson and he pops to the front of the net, creating the perfect two-on-one opportunity down low. I look to Jefferson as if I’m going to pass. The exhausted defenseman overcommits to cover him, leaving me wide open for a shot.
The goalie is stuck inside his crease, not able to come out and cut off my angle to the net due to all the commotion in front of him. This leaves the top corner of the net wide open. I fake a shot, which causes the goalie to flinch, and fire a wrister right over his shoulder. The puck sails into the back of the net.Fuck yeah!
I lift my hands over my head as the guys all converge on me to celebrate. They all tap my head and begin shouting.
“Let’s fucking go!”
“Top titty, baby!”
“What a fucking snipe!”
We make our way to the bench, with me leading the way since I scored the goal. As I tap the gloves of my teammates, my gaze drifts up to the family section of the rink. My chest tightens the moment I spot them.
Sophia and Sadie are jumping up and down, hands raised in the air, their faces lit up with the same adrenaline coursing through me. The roar of the crowd fades for a second, replaced by the sight of the two of them sharing this moment, celebrating with me. My heart kicks harder in my chest, fueled by more than just the goal. Seeing Sophia that happy…it hits something deep. And I know Sadie plays a big part of that too.
We’re all pretty quiet making our way out of the locker room. We ended up losing the game in a shootout. The one point we snagged for going to OT is huge, but losing still sucks.
Making my way into the room dedicated for families to wait in after the game, I nod at some wives and family members. I weave in between them, trying to find Sophia. I’m halfway through the room when I hear her scream my name.
“Daddy!”
Looking over my shoulder to where the sound came from, I spot her running my way just in time to squat down and catch her in my arms.
We squeeze each other tight for a few seconds before she lets go and removes herself from me. “I’m sorry you lost. But me and Sadie had the best time ever!”
Leave it to my kid to not let me milk my disappointment for a second.
Chuckling, I stand up and see Sadie standing a few feet away, giving Sophia and I some space. “Is that so?”
I raise my eyebrows at Sophia before turning to give the same look to Sadie.
She takes a few steps closer, joining us.Finally.
Her hands find Sophia’s shoulders, and I can’t help but notice how Sophia leans into Sadie, feeling more than comfortable with her.
Sadie shoots me a devastating smile before answering. “We did, actually.”
Sophia nods and starts babbling about all the fun things they did together. “We colored like three hundred pictures, played I-spy, Simon Says, sang and danced to all the songs. We even got frozen lemonade because red dye is bad, Daddy.”
I do my best to keep a straight face, but the way my little girl is talking brings me far too much joy. A laugh finally escapes and I look down to meet her hazel eyes. “I know red dye is bad, sweetheart. It’s nice to hear that someone else thinks so too.” I look back up to see Sadie watching me closely.
She’s still smiling, but it’s not the same smile she had on her face a minute ago. Something in my gut is telling me there might be more that Sophia isn’t telling me. Before I can ask, Sadie crouches down next to Sophia.
“Sophia, remember how we talked about telling your dad important things, even if they’re not happy things?”
Suddenly, Sophia’s eyes find the ground and she startsrocking back and forth on her feet, a clear sign she’s feeling nervous.
Instinctively, I move closer and get down on the ground with the two of them. I grab Sophia’s hand. “You know you can tell me anything,Rakas.”
Sophia still doesn’t look up at me, instead she starts looking around at the people crowding the family room. I’m not sure why, but I look over to Sadie for help. Not missing a beat, she grabs Sophia’s other hand.
“It’s okay to be nervous. Would you feel better if we went somewhere quiet like my office so we could be alone?”
Sophia stops scanning the room and turns to look at Sadie. She nods once and together the three of us walk hand-in-hand out of the family area. I’m so grateful Sadie was kind enough to offer her office up to talk. It just shows me again how thoughtful and considerate of a person she is.
It’s a quiet walk, but thankfully doesn’t take us long to reach Sadie’s office. Sadie punches in the code to unlock the door and once she opens it, I’m awestruck at what she’s done with the space in such a short amount of time.
Sadie steps aside, and Sophia and I make our way into the room. What used to be an almost completely empty, dull office, is now a meditation oasis.
